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FDA approves new uses for two drugs Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib) administered together for the treatment of BRAF-positive anaplastic thyroid cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib), administered together, for the treatment of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic), and has a type of abnormal gene, BRAF V600E (BRAF V600E mutation-positive). Continue reading.

May 4, 2018

Release

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib), administered together, for the treatment of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic), and has a type of abnormal gene, BRAF V600E (BRAF V600E mutation-positive).

“This is the first FDA-approved treatment for patients with this aggressive form of thyroid cancer, and the third cancer with this specific gene mutation that this drug combination has been approved to treat,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence and acting director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This approval demonstrates that targeting the same molecular pathway in diverse diseases is an effective way to expedite the development of treatments that may help more patients.”

Thyroid cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the thyroid gland. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is a rare, aggressive type of thyroid cancer. The National Institutes of Health estimates there will be 53,990 new cases of thyroid cancer and an estimated 2,060 deaths from the disease in the United States in 2018. Anaplastic thyroid cancer accounts for about 1 to 2 percent of all thyroid cancers.

Both Tafinlar and Mekinist are also approved for use, alone or in combination, to treat BRAF V600 mutation-positive metastatic melanoma. Additionally, Tafinlar and Mekinist are approved for use, in combination, to treat BRAF V600E mutation-positive, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

The efficacy of Tafinlar and Mekinist in treating ATC was shown in an open-label clinical trial of patients with rare cancers with the BRAF V600E mutation. Data from trials in BRAF V600E mutation-positive, metastatic melanoma or lung cancer and results in other BRAF V600E mutation-positive rare cancers provided confidence in the results seen in patients with ATC. The trial measured the percent of patients with a complete or partial reduction in tumor size (overall response rate). Of 23 evaluable patients, 57 percent experienced a partial response and 4 percent experienced a complete response; in nine (64 percent) of the 14 patients with responses, there were no significant tumor growths for six months or longer.

The side effects of Tafinlar and Mekinist in patients with ATC are consistent with those seen in other cancers when the two drugs are used together. Common side effects include fever (pyrexia), rash, chills, headache, joint pain (arthralgia), cough, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, myalgia (muscle pain), dry skin, decreased appetite, edema, hemorrhage, high blood pressure (hypertension) and difficulty breathing (dyspnea).

Severe side effects of Tafinlar include the development of new cancers, growth of tumors in patients with BRAF wild-type tumors, serious bleeding problems, heart problems, severe eye problems, fever that may be severe, serious skin reactions, high blood sugar or worsening diabetes, and serious anemia.

Severe side effects of Mekinist include the development of new cancers; serious bleeding problems; inflammation of intestines and perforation of the intestines; blood clots in the arms, legs or lungs; heart problems; severe eye problems; lung or breathing problems; fever that may be severe; serious skin reactions; and high blood sugar or worsening diabetes.

Both Tafinlar and Mekinist can cause harm to a developing fetus; women should be advised of the potential risk to the fetus and to use effective contraception.

The FDA granted Priority Review and Breakthrough Therapy designation for this indication. Orphan Drug designation, which provides incentives to assist and encourage the development of drugs for rare diseases, was also granted for this indication.

The FDA granted this approval to Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

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DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO, Born in Mumbai in 1964 and graduated from Mumbai University, Completed his Ph.D from ICT, 1991,Matunga, Mumbai, India, in Organic Chemistry, The thesis topic was Synthesis of Novel Pyrethroid Analogues, Currently he is working with GLENMARK PHARMACEUTICALS LTD, Research Centre as Principal Scientist, Process Research (bulk actives) at Mahape, Navi Mumbai, India. Total Industry exp 30 plus yrs, Prior to joining Glenmark, he has worked with major multinationals like Hoechst Marion Roussel, now Sanofi, Searle India Ltd, now RPG lifesciences, etc. He has worked with notable scientists like Dr K Nagarajan, Dr Ralph Stapel, Prof S Seshadri, Dr T.V. Radhakrishnan and Dr B. K. Kulkarni, etc, He did custom synthesis for major multinationals in his career like BASF, Novartis, Sanofi, etc., He has worked in Discovery, Natural products, Bulk drugs, Generics, Intermediates, Fine chemicals, Neutraceuticals, GMP, Scaleups, etc, he is now helping millions, has 9 million plus hits on Google on all Organic chemistry websites. His friends call him Open superstar worlddrugtracker. His New Drug Approvals, Green Chemistry International, All about drugs, Eurekamoments, Organic spectroscopy international,
etc in organic chemistry are some most read blogs He has hands on experience in initiation and developing novel routes for drug molecules
and implementation them on commercial scale over a 30 year tenure till date Dec 2017, Around 35 plus products in his career. He has good knowledge of IPM, GMP, Regulatory aspects, he has several International patents published worldwide . He has good proficiency in Technology transfer, Spectroscopy, Stereochemistry, Synthesis, Polymorphism etc., He suffered a paralytic stroke/ Acute Transverse mylitis in Dec 2007 and is 90 %Paralysed, He is bound to a wheelchair, this seems to have injected feul in him to help chemists all around the world, he is more active than before and is pushing boundaries, He has 9 million plus hits on Google, 2.5 lakh plus connections on all networking sites, 50 Lakh plus views on dozen plus blogs, He makes himself available to all, contact him on +91 9323115463, email amcrasto@gmail.com, Twitter, @amcrasto , He lives and will die for his family, 90% paralysis cannot kill his soul., Notably he has 19 lakh plus views on New Drug Approvals Blog in 216 countries......https://newdrugapprovals.wordpress.com/ , He appreciates the help he gets from one and all, Friends, Family, Glenmark, Readers, Wellwishers, Doctors, Drug authorities, His Contacts, Physiotherapist, etc

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